A three-year-old boy missing for 20 days has been found dead four miles from his family home.

The boy’s body was found in the village of Tarmikt, in the Ouarzazate province of south-eastern Morocco, on Thursday, 2nd March.

Police say victim Omran Amakhshon had been reported missing on 12th February.

Investigators have apparently ruled out an accidental death saying the boy had been “slaughtered”, according to local media.

Omran had left his home at 5:30pm to play nearby but his family never saw him alive again.

His disappearance has caused concern across the country.

The young boy’s body was reportedly found by a local shepherd approximately 7 kilometres (four miles) from the family’s home.

The case was raised in the Moroccan Parliament, with the Minister of the Interior, Abdelwafi Laftit, urged to intervene to speed up the investigation.

Omran’s disappearance and death are being investigated by the Royal Gendarmerie of Ouarzazate.

The investigation is ongoing.

Moroccan media have said that homicides have increased dramatically in the country in recent years, with members of the public urging the authorities to intervene.